The DDC and the darkness dimensions
by mrmuscle
Summary: When Jeremy and Gibby join the ICarly team as technical assistants, all is going well until strange things start happening. And what do Nevel, Valerie, and Jonah have to do with any of this. Find out inside. No pairings as of yet. Please R
1. Chapter 1: The Dark offer and the strang

Disclaimer: I don't own ICarly or the Simpsons(reference)

Hi. This is my first ICarly story. Please R&R

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The DDC and the darkness dimensions

Chapter 1: The Dark offer and the strange, unexpected offer

Carly, Sam, Freddie, Gibby, and Jeremy are sitting in their classroom listening to Ms. Briggs drone on and on about bagpipes and other boring things. Carly is sitting in front of Sam and Freddie is sitting next to his good friends, Gibby and Jeremy. They happened to be talking about Freddie's relationship with Carly.

"So Freddie, did you finally get Carly to accept going out on a date with you?" asks Jeremy, who then sneezed.

"No, I haven't. Every time I try to put the moves on her, she rejects me, almost instinctively. It's almost like she fears me or something" says Freddie, who is disappointed that he was turned down by Carly, once again.

"Maybe you should give up on her. It's been like three years since you started putting the moves on her, and trying to get a date with her" says Gibby, who feels for his friend.

"I don't know, maybe I should. It's just, when I'm around her, it feels like I'm complete and that I can do anything I want to just as long as I'm with her" says Freddie.

"Well, if you feel that strongly about her, maybe we could try to help you get her" says Gibby.

Jeremy nods his head in agreement at the suggestion; however Freddie frowns and shakes his head.

"Sorry guys, I appreciate the offer, but if I'm going to win over Carly, I want to do it on my own. You guys can understand that, right?" asks Freddie.

Jeremy smiles and says, "Of course, we just thought you may have wanted help that's all".

Gibby nods in agreement. Sensing the end of that conversation, Gibby switches subjects and asks Freddie, "So are you going to still teach me the computer stuff that you do? I would love to learn it, that way when you and Jeremy talk about it, I won't get lost in the shuffle. Also Jeremy and I were discussing something. If I learn about the technical stuff, and if you, Carly, and Sam agree, Jeremy and I would love to be your technical assistants and work on ICarly with you guys.

Freddie thinks for a moment. _Having technical assistants wouldn't be such a bad idea, especially when I need to step in front of the camera. Besides, I'm sure Carly and Sam would love to have more people working on ICarly. Ok, maybe not, Sam doesn't like Gibby, and both of them aren't too fond of Jeremy after he started being the technical producer while I was dating Valerie. But if we can do a better web show they would have to forgive their shortcomings, right? I hope so anyways. _

"No offense, but the girls aren't too fond of you Jeremy and Sam straight up doesn't like you Gibby, but nonetheless, I'll talk to them after school about it. If they say yes, I'll let you know. In any case Gibby, one day soon you can come over to either mine or Carly's apartment and I can teach you about the 'techy' stuff."

"Ok, thanks Freddie" says Jeremy and Gibby simultaneously, with smiles on their face, although they were both thinking about what Freddie just said.

"No problem guys" says Freddie.

With their conversation over, the boys start paying attention to Ms. Briggs again. Apparently they didn't miss much of what she was teaching during their conversation, as she was still rambling on about the history of bagpipes. With one minute left of class, she makes a huge announcement.

"As you all may be aware of, I am retiring at the end of the year…"

The class shouts and applauds. They continued to do so until Ms. Briggs shouts "Quiet class!" The class immediately shuts up.

"Thank you. Now as I was saying, I am retiring at the end of the year, meaning that after 35 years of teaching I will finally be getting away from you brats. However, per Principle Franklin's orders, I have to throw an end of the school year party, and you are all invited. Before you all get excited and go into a chaotic frenzy again, in order to get into this party, you must do a report on the history of bagpipes. That is your final assignment and anyone who does not turn it in will not only get an F but will also not get into the party."

"Aw man, why don't you just make us drink out of a toilet?" shouts Sam, out of displeasure.

"Sam quiet, at least we get a party. She could have not invited us at all!" says Carly.

"Quite right, Ms. Shay. Now, I want all of you to have a fun and safe weekend and remember you only have two weeks to do that report!" says Ms. Briggs.

The bell rings just then, indicating the end of the school day and the beginning of two days of freedom. Jeremy and Gibby leave to go play the Wii at Gibby's house and, true to his word, Freddie goes to talk to the girls about Jeremy and Gibby joining ICarly. Freddie walks to Carly's locker and finds her and Sam giggling about something.

"What are you girls laughing at?" asks Freddie.

"Oh, hey there Freddork, we were just laughing about your crush on Carly. Just a reminder, Carly will never love you" says Sam.

Carly rolls her eyes as she knows another fight is about to insure between Sam and Freddie.

_Some things never change_ think Carly and Freddie.

"At least I don't have a big ol' butt" retorts Freddie.

Just as Sam was about to lash out at Freddie for another "big butts" comment, Carly asks, "So what did you want Freddie?"

"Well before being insulted by the she-beast known as Sam, I came by to ask you and said she-beast if maybe Jeremy and Gibby could become my technical assistants on ICarly. They seem very interested, especially Gibby, and I figure I could use their help when I need to step in front of the camera."

Sam gives a look to Freddie that says "you're going to pay". Carly answers for the both of them with a "Why not? I mean we could use all the help we could get".

"What? I don't want Jeremy on the show. I mean Gibby is enough of a hassle when he's on our show" says Sam.

"Well, I don't agree. The segments we do with Gibby are funny and the audience loves him, and even though he was kind of a pain, Jeremy did help us out while Freddie was off being used by that skunk bag Valerie" says Carly.

Sam thinks for a minute then says, "Okay, fine, we'll give them a test run. If their good, they'll stay. If not, I'm personally going to kick them out of our studio"

Freddie frowns but agrees with Sam's proposition. "One more thing, since Gibby knows almost nothing about computers, I was going to teach him at my apartment, but now I think that we can all benefit from my teaching."

"If it'll get you to shut up, fine" informs Sam.

Sam then grabs Freddie and throws him into a row of lockers. Carly gasps and quickly runs to Freddie, and helps him get off the floor.

"Freddie, are you alright?" asks Carly, whose voice is full of concern.

"Ya, I'm alright" says Freddie to Carly. Freddie then asks Sam, "What was that for?"

"That was revenge for that big butts comment and she-beast comment" answers Sam.

Freddie rolls his eyes in annoyance and Carly sighs. She, Sam, and Freddie walk to Carly's apartment. Meanwhile, Valerie, Freddie's ex-girlfriend, and Jonah, Sam's ex-boyfriend walk towards a secure, undisclosed location to meet someone.

"Do you know where you're going?" Jonah asks.

"For the last time, yes!" Valerie exclaims.

"In any case, let's hope this person is safe" says Jonah.

Valerie rolls her eyes and Jonah sighs. After a 15-minute walk, they locate their destination. Jonah and Valerie look around.

"So where is he?" Jonah asks.

"I don't know, he said he was going to be here, so give him a few minutes" says Valerie.

Suddenly, from the shadows, comes out a kid.

"My name is Nevel Pappermin, owner and operator of Nevelocity. I brought you out here to make a proposition for you".

Valerie looks suspiciously at Nevel. "What kind of proposition?" she asks.

"One that would ruin ICarly."

Valerie and Jonah look at each other, then at Nevel.

"Keep talking" they say.

"I propose that we start our own web show, one that would knock ICarly right off the internet, and one that would make Carly, Sam, and Freddie look like chumps" says Nevel.

"Nevel, as good as that idea is, it won't work, I've already tried" says Valerie.

"Yes, but you haven't tried with me. With my technical genius, your charm, and Jonah's cunning, we would be unstoppable. We could become a world-famous international juggernaut" says Nevel.

"I must say, I do not completely trust you, but I do want revenge for those fools embarrassing me" says Valerie.

"May ICarly be destroyed by our crushing force" says Jonah and Valerie.

"Excellent" says Nevel, in the same voice as Mr. Burns from the Simpsons.


	2. Chapter 2: What a day

I don't own Icarly. Please read and review.

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Chapter 2: What a day

Carly, Sam, and Freddie are in the hallway outside Carly's apartment. Sam looks at Freddie with a confused expression.

"What?" asks Freddie.

"Why are you following us? Don't you have a report to do?" asks Sam.

"I'll do it later. What's it any of your concern anyways?" asks Freddie.

Sam shrugs her shoulders and says, "I just figured that your mom still had you on that 'do your homework immediately after school' schedule."

Freddie glares at Sam.

"My mom never had me on a schedule like that! Even if she did, what concern is it of yours anyway? I think that you're just trying to aggravate me" shouts Freddie.

Sam looks at Freddie with a "duh" expression on her face. A low growl escapes Freddie's throat as Carly opens her door.

"Come on guys, cant you two just stop?" asks Carly.

"NO!" shouts Freddie and Sam simultaneously.

Carly rolls her eyes.

_Man, cant those two just stop. Why do I even allow them over if all they do is fight?_

As Carly is pondering that thought, she shouts, "Spencer, I'm home! Sam and Freddie are here too!"

Accustomed to hearing a response and getting none, Carly asks, "Spencer, you home?"

As Carly is asking her question, Sam and Freddie are making themselves at home. Sam is raiding Carly and Spencer's fridge and Freddie is setting up his laptop, to check some things like the ICarly message board. As he is setting up, he finds a note addressed to Carly from Spencer.

Having heard Carly's question, Freddie says to Carly, "I don't think he is."

Carly, startled by the sound of Freddie's voice, turns around and asks, "What makes you say that?"

"This note I found on the kitchen table, addressed to you from Spencer" answers Freddie.

Carly takes the note from Freddie's outstretched hands and reads it. It says:

Carly, I've gone out of town for a few weeks. There was an art convention in Phoenix, Arizona and I absolutely needed to be there. Sorry for leaving without notice, but I just found out today and the convention starts tomorrow. I'm taking my sculpture of my body with me; you know the one you helped me paint when you were hanging out with Jake. Anyways, I left you some money on the kitchen table. It's from my latest sculpture, you know the one you and Griffin helped me with. I trust you can take care of yourself. Hope you understand!

Love you Carly-o

Spencer

Ps, if you need anything, just ask Mrs. Benson. She won't be checking in on you though, so you need to go to her, although she may be gone to, so if she's gone, and you need something, just call up granddad. Figured you're grown up enough to behave when I'm gone.

Carly smiles.

_Finally, he trusts me again._

"What did the note say?" asks Freddie and Sam.

Carly jumps, as she had forgotten that Sam and Freddie are there with her. She looks at her best friends, who look concerned, and smiles, which in turn make them smile.

"Spencer just said that he was leaving for an art convention for a few weeks, and that he left me some money on the kitchen table."

That answer satisfies Freddie but not Sam.

_She's hiding something; why else would she be blushing faintly?_

"Something just occurred to me" says Freddie.

"What, that you will never be anything more that a geek" says Sam.

"Sam, that enough!" exclaims Carly. Carly turns to Freddie and asks, "What just occurred to you?"

"Well, when I was setting up my laptop, I looked around on the table and I didn't see any money" states Freddie.

Carly looks on the table herself and, just as Freddie said, there was no money.

"Great, now what, did someone steal it?" asks Carly, whose frustration is setting in.

Freddie looks at Sam, and says to Carly, "Sam has your money!"

Carly turns to Sam and indeed notices her counting Carly's money.

"Sam! What are you doing?"

"What, I found it on the table as you were reading the note and started counting it to see how much Spencer left you" states Sam.

Carly's anger cools slightly as she asks, "How much did he leave me?"

"$2,000" answers Sam.

Carly and Freddie's jaws drop. That was a lot of money for only a few weeks.

"What in god's name does he thing you need $2,000 for?" asks Freddie.

"I'd start with buying some food, your almost out" says Sam.

Freddie rolls his eyes and says, "Is that the only thing you think about?"

"Absolutely not, I think about other things" Sam says, defending herself.

"Like what?" questions Freddie.

"Like…like…I don't know. " Sam turns to Carly, "help me out here".

"Sam thinks about bad boys, like Griffin."

Slightly annoyed, Freddie exclaims, "Why did you have to mention that guy?"

Sam answers that question by saying, "She mentioned him to remind you that she will never love you."

Freddie glares at Sam, his anger slowly rising. After a moment, Freddie relaxes and smirks at Sam. Sensing his sudden mood change, Sam raises her eyebrows in suspicion. Carly walks towards where Freddie and Sam are standing; ready to pull them apart if necessary.

"You know Sam, your right. Carly may never love me, but you know what, at least we have a special friendship and loving attitude towards other people. In other words, we have a heart. You on the other hand don't have any friends besides Carly and I and you know why. Because, Samantha Puckett, you are heartless and you couldn't be nice to anyone, if even for a second. And you know what; I know somewhere out there there is a person who I know loves me. I can't say the same thing about you though. Not even your own mother loves you anymore. I mean how could she!" ends Freddie in an eerily calm voice.

Sam stands there flabbergasted, and Carly stands there wide-eyed. Nobody has ever dared to say anything like that to Sam, ever. After the shock has subsided, Sam does something unexpected; she takes off towards Carly's room, tears running down her face. Carly quickly turns her attention towards Freddie, and puts her hands on her hips, an angry, almost demonic look in her eyes.

_Oh god, she's mad!_

"How can you say such a thing, especially about Sam's mom? You know how touchy Sam is on the subject of her mother. Besides, it's not like your mom's perfect. That woman is loony!" shouts Carly.

"I said it because I'm tired of being constantly reminded about being turned down by you. First Gibby and Jeremy, and now Sam. I understand that you don't like me in that way, but that doesn't make your turn-downs any easier. Besides, I'm beginning to realize that you maybe aren't worth my efforts anymore…"

To this Carly's jaw drops.

_He's…over…me?! I can't believe this!_

Freddie takes the less-than-mild shock from Carly as a sign to pause before continuing.

"…Don't get me wrong, you're smart, pretty, and have a certain glow about you whenever I see you, however, whenever I ask you out you seem to reject me, almost automatically, like your afraid. Are you afraid of me?"

Carly, instead of answering the question, as she is too flabbergasted to say anything, turns heel and runs to comfort Sam. Freddie sighs and senses that this is a good time to leave as Spencer, who would normally give Freddie advice, is not there. Freddie enters his apartment and finds something odd; his mother, who would normally be home and yelling at him for being late, was not there. He also finds a note on the table telling him that his mother, Marissa Benson, was going to a gardening convention in South Beach, Florida, and wouldn't be back for a month. Freddie looks around for some money, but found none.

_Figures, mom would leave me no money. She probably thinks I would leave home and never come back or something._

Freddie walks towards and opens the fridge but also found no food.

_Great, now what? No money, no food. How am I going to survive the month? I guess (gulp) that I have to stay with Carly and (another gulp) Sam. *shutter*_

Freddie, unsure of what to do since he insulted Sam and Carly, grabs his keys, and pulls out his phone to call Gibby. Just as he was about to call, he hears a knock on the door. Feeling scared because of his neighbor and her best friend, Freddie decides not to answer the door and instead sneak out from his fire escape. He runs towards his window just as his door opens.

_Dangit, I forgot Sam and Carly can pick locks. Curse them! Now what am I going to do?_

"Freddie!"

_Wait, that's not Carly or Sam!_

Freddie turns around and sees his ex-girlfriend Valerie.

"How did you get in here?" asks Freddie.

Valerie rolls her eyes and lifts up her hand, revealing Freddie's spare key. Freddie sighs, rolls his eyes, and hits his head.

"Why are you here?" asks Freddie.

"Freddie, after thinking it over, I was wrong for using you and I apologize. I'm sorry."

_My butt she's sorry. I wonder why she's __really __here._

"Get out of my house. You're not sorry. You used me then, and if I forgive you, then you'll just use me again" says Freddie.

"I've changed!" exclaims Valerie.

"No you haven't, your still as conniving as ever" says Freddie.

"No, I'm not, honest!"

"Please, why should I believe you? Your worse than Sam, and that's saying something" shouts Freddie.

"Believe what you want" says Valerie.

Valerie shakes her head and runs out of the apartment, dropping Freddie's key in the process. Freddie, wanting to talk to someone…else, walks over to Carly's place. He was about to knock when he notices a sign on Carly's door saying:

"Freddie, stay out! Sam and I don't want to see you ever again!" signed Carly Shay.

"This day is just getting weirder and weirder; first Gibby, Jeremy, and Sam, then Valerie, and now Carly. Who next?!"


	3. Chapter 3: It gets weirder

Disclaimer: I don't own ICarly and never will. Please enjoy the chapter and R&R.

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Chapter 3: It gets weirder

Freddie, deciding that this was a weird day, pulls out his phone and dials Gibby's number. After a few rings, someone answers the phone.

"Hello" says a delicate female voice.

"Hi, Mrs. Faranger, is Gibby there? This is Freddie".

"Hi, Freddie. I'm sorry, but Gibby isn't here. He left about fifteen minutes ago to go to the Groovy Smoothie."

"Ok, was Jeremy with him?"

"Yes he was. Why do you ask?"

"No particular reason, its just that Gibby wanted to know more about computers and I thought that I could start teaching him today, but if he's not home, than we'll do it some other time."

"Ok Freddie, I'll let him know the next time I see him."

"Ok, thank you. Bye Mrs. Faranger."

"Bye Freddie."

As Freddie hung up the phone, he decides to go to the arcade to see who is there and not the Groovy Smoothie, as he doesn't have any money. Maybe one of his friends would be at the arcade, and he could hang out with them, seeing as Carly and Sam are a little preoccupied with what Freddie had said to each of them.

Speaking of Carly and Sam, they are both in the Shay's apartment, in Carly's bedroom; Sam is still crying her heart out and Carly is trying to comfort her.

"Sam, just calm down; I haven't seen you this upset since you worked at Chile My Bowl."

Sam, slightly disturbed by the memory, stops crying and says to Carly, "Thanks, you just had to remind me of that!"

Carly smiles and replies, "Hey, at least we get a trampoline out of it."

"Ya, remember when Spencer bounced so high that he hit his head on the ceiling."

Both Carly and Sam laugh at the memory. Seeing that Sam is cheered up, Carly asks Sam, "Want to go talk to Freddie about what happened? He was way out of line with his comments."

"Ya he was. Alright, let's go see what crawled up his butt."

"Ya, lets go. By the way Sam, you know what he said to me today?"

"No, what?"

"He said that I wasn't worth his time anymore and that maybe he should stop crushing on me."

Sam stops mid-stride and turns to face Carly, flabbergasted.

"He really said that?"

Carly nods.

_I can't believe it. Freddie never says stuff like that. Even when he was super mad at both me and Carly when we were fighting. _

"Wow, now I know something is wrong with him! He's had that crush for how long now? And he just stops having it? That doesn't make any sense" says Sam.

"I know, that's why I want to talk to him too."

Sam and Carly exit the Shay's apartment and go knock on Freddie's door. Upon realizing that Freddie is not home, Carly and Sam go down to the lobby, where they are yelled at by Lewbert. Ignoring him, as they are desensitized to his yelling, the girls head towards the Groovy Smoothie. Once they open the door, they see Gibby and Jeremy drinking smoothies.

Gibby and Jeremy sense them and wave them over.

"Hey Carly, hey Sam, what's up?" asks Gibby.

"Nothing much. We thought Freddie would be here. We need to talk to him. Right Sam?"

Carly, hearing no response from her best friend turns and finds that Sam is buying smoothies for the both of them.

_Where did she get money for smoothies?!_

Sighing, Carly returns her attention to Gibby and Jeremy.

"Sorry Carly, we haven't seen Freddie since school. What did you need to talk to him about anyways?" asked Gibby.

Before Carly can answer, she is summoned to the front counter by Sam.

"Carly…can…you…come…here…for…a…minute?"

_What's she so scared about. Come to think about it, I've never seen Sam scared. Better go see what she wants._

Carly says to Gibby, "Be right back".

Carly approaches Sam and asks, "What's wrong?"

"This voice message I got. Take a listen."

Carly nods as Sam hits play.

"Hello ICarly jerks…" says a voice that Carly immediately recognizes as Nevel, "…I hope your listening well. Me and a few associates of mine have teamed up to put an end to ICarly forever and there is nothing you can do to stop us. You shall rue the day. RUE IT! Hahahahahahaha!"

"What did he mean by associates?" asks Carly.

"And more importantly, how the hell did he get my number?" asked Sam.

Carly shakes her head.

"I don't know, but I think it's high time we find Freddie!" says Carly.

"Let's just call him" says Sam.

Carly shakes her head again.

"I doubt he'll answer. After I ripped him a new one, he's not going to answer my phone calls. And if you try to call him well…"

"Ya, Ya, Ya, I get it. Why don't we ask Gibby and Jeremy for help finding him then?"

Carly shrugs her shoulders and says, "Why not?"

Sam nods, then calls out to Gibby and Jeremy, "Hey Gibby, Jeremy, come here."

Gibby and Jeremy look at each other, confused about what Sam could want with them, other than torturing them. Finally they shrug their shoulders and decide to see what Sam wants. They go towards where Carly and Sam are standing, smoothies in hand.

"What's up? Your not going to torture us, are you Sam?"

Sam rolls her eyes and Carly sighs.

Choosing to ignore the question directed towards Sam, Carly tells Gibby, "We need your help to find Freddie. He wasn't at his house, and we can't call him, so…"

"Wait why not?"

"Because of…of reasons that cannot be discussed here."

Gibby and Jeremy both raise their eyebrows in suspicion.

Carly and Sam look at each other, then say to Gibby and Jeremy simultaneously, "If you help us, then we'll help you two get girlfriends."

"Okay, what do you want us to do?" said the boys simultaneously.

"Let's split up and search. I'll go north, Carly can go south, Gibby can go east and Jeremy can go west. We'll meet here in an hour and hopefully someone will have Freddie."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Sounds good."

Sam nods.

"Operation, find Freddie, is ago."


	4. Chapter 4: Game Time

Disclaimer: I don't own Icarly.

A/N Sorry it took me so long to update. First I had writers block and then Fanfiction wouldn't let me upload, but its working now.

A/N 2 This story really dosen't have a timeline to it, which means that the more episodes i see the more elements from those episodes i can put into this story.

A/N 3 Enjoy this chapter and please review.

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Chapter 4: Game time

Freddie, unbenounced to the chaos that is going on with ICarly, is chilling at the arcade with his buddy Wesley. Wesley is buying games for Freddie, and challenging him to beat his high scores. One of their favorite games to play is Street Fighter 2. Freddie, just as he was about to trounce Wesley, again, hears his phone go off, the ringtone being paralyzer by Finger 11.

"Nice ringtone!" says Wesley.

"Thanks!" says Freddie.

Looking at the number, and realizing it is Gibby, Freddie answers the phone with a sigh.

"Hello" says Freddie.

"Hey Freddie, this is Gibby. Where are you buddy?"

"I'm at the arcade with Wesley. Why do you ask?" asks Freddie.

"Sam and Carly are looking for you…"

At this Freddie tenses.

_Why would Sam and Carly be looking for me? I know they're mad, but not so mad that they're going to beat me up, right? Actually, knowing Sam, she…_

Freddie is knocked from his thoughts when Gibby finishes with, "…and they sound urgent, like they're in big trouble."

Freddie shakes his head.

_What kind of trouble? I know I have my problems with them, but those weren't big problems. I wonder what's wrong with them._

Remembering he's still talking to Gibby, Freddie asks, "Trouble? What kind of trouble?"

"I don't know, but I think it has something to do with ICarly. Sam and Carly looked scared when they called me and Jeremy into action to find you" says Gibby.

_Sam looking scared, that's a first. And, why would they ask Jeremy and Gibby for their help? This doesn't make sense._

"Okay, thanks for the heads-up. I'll wait for them here."

"Thank you!" says Gibby as he hung up.

_How could Sam and Carly be in trouble with ICarly? As far as I can see, all of their problems should be with me, and not with ICarly. I guess I'll just have to see what's up when they get here._

"Yo Freddie, what was that about?" asks Wesley.

"Gibby called me and said that Carly and Sam are looking for me and that they sound urgent. Gibby said that Sam and Carly asked for his and Jeremy's help. Why, I don't know. I told him I'd meet everyone here" says Freddie.

Wesley nods and asks Freddie, "While you're waiting, want another game?"

Freddie grins and says, "Bring it!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Gibby hangs up the phone for the second time in the past 5 minutes. He just told a very upset Sam where Freddie is. After vowing to beat Freddie down for playing videogames after upsetting Carly and her, she said to Gibby that she would inform Carly and Jeremy of Freddie's location and uncharacteristically, she thanked Gibby, and then hung up.

_I don't know what Freddie did, but if Sam or Carly gets ahold of him before me or Jeremy find him, he's dead meat. _

Without warning, a mysterious person grabs Gibby and pulls him towards an alleyway. The person turns out to be the girl he met at the cheesecake warehouse.

"Follow me and you won't get captured."

_Captured? By who? And why is this girl helping me, and more importantly, how did she know where I was at?_

"Captured? By who?" asks Gibby.

"They call him King Cobra. If he finds you, he will torment you to no end."

Gibby looks at her dubiously.

"Who's King Cobra?"

"He's…"

Before she can answer, a man pulls into the alley Gibby and the girl is in. In a flash, the girl comes out of the shadows and hits the man with a garbage can lid.

"It's him, run!" the girl shouts as the man slowly gets up.

Meanwhile, in Nevel's nerd cave, as dubbed by Sam and Carly, Nevel speaks over the phone.

"Is everything going according to plan?"

"Yes master, we sent King Cobra and his associates after them."

"Good!"


	5. Chapter 5: Captured?

Disclaimer: I don't own Icarly.

a/n Sorry I haven't updated in a while. School and work have been hell lately. Anyways, I have half of the next chapter planned, so it shouldn't be too long for the next update. Maybe sometime next month, when I'm off for break. Anyways the next chapter is gonna be huge in terms of both storyline and length, so look for it soon!

Ps I thank all of my reviewers so far, and all future reviewers! You rock!

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Chapter 5: Captured?

Gibby and the girl, whose name Gibby found out from the shirt she is wearing is Ashley, burst out of the alley and ran down the streets of Seattle. King Cobra, who has recovered from Ashley's 'hit and run' attack, is right on their trail. Gibby and Ashley know this by the rapid pace of footsteps coming from behind them.

_Who the hell is this guy, and how did he recover from that attack so quickly?_

While running Gibby asks Ashley, "Who is King Cobra and why is he after me?"

Ashley answers with, "King Cobra is one of the top kidnappers in Seattle. They say that he only does jobs when he finds it necessary. He never works for anybody, till now that is. Why he wants you is beyond me, but since I'm helping you, he's probably going to want me too, so we should keep running."

_I'm being followed by as expert kidnapper, great! Why me? How does this girl know so much about him, and why is she helping me? Who is this guy working for, and why? And more importantly, how are me and Ashley going to get out of this mess?_

Gibby nods and asks, "Why are you helping me anyways?"

Before she can answer, Ashley feels an arm wrap around her waist. The last thing she sees before going into a never ending darkness is Gibby, unconscious, being dragged by King Cobra.

Meanwhile, back at the arcade, Freddie and Wesley were playing another game of Street Fighter 2 when Jeremy, Sam, and Carly walk though the door. Freddie, completely absorbed in the game, didn't notice Sam approach him 'till she tackles him to the ground and started attacking him with a meat-stick. Freddie's vision was black for a second, and was unaware of what just happened until he finally focused his vision and saw Sam on top of him, attacking him.

_What the heck? Sam? Sam! Why is she attacking me? I need help!_

"Sam, stop it! Help!" says Freddie.

"Why should I?" started Sam, still attacking him, "You upset me, confuse Carly, and then decide to play videogames! You're going to pay!"

Freddie looks at Carly for help, but she just shakes her head and says, "You kind of deserve this!"

_What? Carly's always been my backup! Why isn't she helping me? _

Surprisingly, Jeremy sticks up for Freddie and says, "No one deserves to get beat like this!"

Jeremy walks up to Sam and with a surprising show of strength, lifts her up and off of Freddie, and carries her to where Carly is.

Once Sam is on the ground again, she and Carly, along with Freddie, look at Jeremy with shock.

"Wha…How did you do that?" asks Sam.

"Hey, just because I'm sick most of the time, doesn't mean I don't work out. Besides, I need to be strong to lift everything for the AV club, which I started" answers Jeremy.

Sam and Carly slowly nod their heads. Freddie, once he recovered, asks Carly and Sam, "What did you want anyways? Gibby said you sounded urgent."

Carly and Sam look at each other, then at Freddie, both girls with death glares in their eyes.

"Well, besides what you said to us at my apartment, we needed to talk to you about the message Sam got on her phone" answers Carly.

Sam puts her phone on speaker and replays the message. Freddie's face goes pale at the word 'associates'. Once the message finishes, Sam closes her phone. Carly and Sam turn towards Freddie and see the look on his face.

_Why does Freddie look scared? Except for when Sam is whaling on him, he's never scared! And why do I get the feeling that he's hiding something?_

Carly, asks Freddie, "What's wrong?"

Freddie gulps and says, "I think I know who Nevel meant by associates."

"Who?" ask the girls.

Freddie, who looks like he's been running a mile, says, "Valerie being one of them, and the second, seeing as he is not here, being Gibby.

Carly, Sam, and even Jeremy gasp. Each person is thinking something different.

Carly is thinking, _why would Gibby do something like this? He's our best friend, why would he betray us?_

Jeremy is thinking, _I can't believe Gibby would something like that. I'm ashamed._

All Sam is thinking about was how she was going to destroy Gibby the next time she saw him.

"What?! After I said thanks to him, he goes and pulls something like that. That punk!" exclaims Sam.

"Sam calm down! Who knows, maybe Gibby's on his way right now!" says Carly.

"Lets hope!" says Freddie.

"I don't think he is" says Jeremy.

With a quizzical look, Freddie asks, "Why do you say that?"

Jeremy responds with, "Because he texted saying he's been kidnapped."

"By who?!"

"Nevel!"


	6. Chapter 6: I spy private eyes

A/N Sorry about the long lapse in updating. School and Work have been killer. Anyways hope you enjoy and review this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Icarly. Wish I did though.

* * *

Chapter 6: I spy private eyes

After the shock of Nevel kidnapping Gibby sets in, the kids discuss amongst themselves on what to do, and the reason behind the act.

"Why would Nevel kidnap Gibby?" asks Jeremy.

"I'll tell you why. It's because the little but-munch has a problem with ICarly being better than his dumb Nevelocity. He probably thinks that by kidnapping Gibby that he can get some kind of leverage against us and get us to shut down ICarly" says Sam.

Carly, Freddie, and Jeremy nod. Freddie looks slightly surprised.

_Wow, I can't believe Sam could come up with a logical explanation for this heinous act. Course, she does have that criminal mindset, so I shouldn't be too surprised. _

"So what do we do, call the police?" asks Jeremy.

"Or the military?" asks Sam, who remembers when Nevel tried to pull this stuff before, and they had to use the military to stop Nevel.

Jeremy looks at Sam confused.

_The military? How the heck are we going to use the military?_

Before Jeremy could ask how the military could help, Carly answers Sam with, "No, we need to deal with this problem on our own. Now, we know why Nevel did it, but we don't know how he did it."

"What do you mean?" asks Sam, slightly confused.

Carly clarifies by saying, "We know Nevel is smart enough to come up with a plan like this, but he's not strong enough to execute it. He would have had to have help. But who in their right mind would be willing to help Nevel?"

"Well knowing Nevel, he could have paid anybody to help him" says Jeremy.

"While that's true, I was thinking maybe one of Nevel's friends, or maybe one of our enemies" says Carly.

"We have enemies?" asks Freddie.

"Of course we do!" says Carly.

"Like who?" asks Jeremy.

The teens began to think about who could help Nevel and who really their enemies were.

"Well, there's Tasha, Valerie…" says Sam.

"Jonah!" adds Freddie.

Carly nods in agreement. As the ICarly trio is trying to think of more people, Jeremy asks, "What about Rip-off Rodney?"

This name catches the trio off guard for a moment, then they remember what Sam did to Rip-Off Rodney after her and Carly became friends again.

_Flashback_

_It's the day after Carly and Sam made up after ICarly. Carly, Sam, and Freddie are standing by Carly's locker talking when Rip-Off Rodney rounded the corner, still wearing the ICarly tee shirt that Carly had made Sam. Carly noticed Rodney and immediately looked down. Sam and Freddie noticed that Carly had stopped talking._

"_Carly, what's wrong?" asked Freddie._

_Carly looked at Freddie and said, "I just noticed that Rip-Off Rodney still had that ICarly tee on."_

_For some reason these words made Sam's blood boil. She didn't know if it was guilt or anger, but whatever it was, Sam didn't like it, so without another word, Sam marched over to Rodney and spun him around._

"_Sam, what the heck are you doing?" asked Rodney._

"_Look Rodney, it was a mistake to trade the shirt in for those tickets and I want the shirt back" said Sam, demandingly._

"_No Puckett, we had a deal, shirt for tickets. I'm not giving it back."_

_Either it was the fact he said no, or called Sam by her last name, whatever it was, Sam was furious. She jumped on Rodney, and pounded him. Sam had to be pulled back by three teachers and the school nurse. Sam got suspended for a month, but she did get the shirt back._

_End of flashback_

After thinking about that incident, Carly says, "Ya, Rip-Off Rodney could, especially after the whole 'ICarly shirt' incident. Okay, there's four suspects."

"Hey, what about Rubin?" asks Wesley, joining in on the conversation.

"Why Rubin?" asks Freddie.

"Well after being turned down by Sam, it wouldn't be surprising if he wanted revenge against Sam and ICarly."

"True and I guess the same thing would go for Pete too! That leaves 6 suspects…" says Carly.

"Wait, what about Griffin?" asks Freddie.

Carly glares at Freddie and says, "Griffin is none of your concern!"

Freddie jumps back and slowly says, "Okay, he's none of my concern."

"Good, glad we have an understanding. Now as I was saying, that leaves _SIX_ suspects. We should probably go talk to every one of them and see if they know anything" says Carly.

Meanwhile, in another undisclosed location, Nevel is currently talking to Valerie, Jonah, King Cobra, and King Cobra's partner, Ms. Warlock about their hostages, Gibby and Ashley.

"Excellent work everyone. Everything is going according to plan. We have a friend of the ICarly team and his partner. By now, they probably are searching for them, which works to our advantage. While they are searching for them, they won't be doing their web show, which is the perfect time to strike. Let's plan the 1st episode of our web show."

"Okay, but what are we going to do with Gibby and Ashley?" asks Jonah.

"Oh, don't worry Jonah; I have a plan for them. First, we take them to separate locations. Second, King Cobra and Ms. Warlock will take turns interrogating them, to see what makes ICarly so popular. Then, we will take them to where the other hostages are. After that, King Cobra and Ms. Warlock will watch over the prisoners to make sure they don't try to stop us" says Nevel.

Jonah just shakes his head.

_This plan is so cliché. We'll spend all this time interrogating them, only to have them escape. I don't care what he says; I'm making my own plan._

"Okay, now here's the plan for the web show. We…"

Back at the arcade, Carly, Sam, Freddie, Jeremy and their new teammate Wesley were making their own plan.

"Okay, I'm thinking that we should stick together and investigate each person. Whoever we cant find in, lets say, five hours we'll assume is working with Nevel. After that, we'll try to track down where Nevel and his associates are and hopefully find Gibby. If anything goes wrong, we'll call the police" says Freddie.

"Okay!" says the gang.

"Okay, first we should start with Tasha. She'll be the easiest to track down" says Carly.

"Why is that?" asks Wesley.

"With her boutique attitude, it shouldn't be that hard" says Carly.

"Okay, sounds good!"

Just as they were about to leave, Sam and Carly pull Freddie into a corner.

Carly says, "You really upset Sam and me earlier. We'll put our problems on hold, but once this is all over, you're going to explain yourself, big time!"

_Ya right. Why should I have to explain anything to anybody? I wasn't in the wrong. And I'm not going to be castrated for standing up for myself. But I should just agree. There are more immanent problems here!_

"Okay, Okay!"

"Alright, let's go!" says Sam.

The group of five walks out of the arcade and down block to where they think Tasha lives. As they are walking, Sam catches something out of the corner of her eye.

"Guys, wait up!" exclaim Sam.

Carly, Freddie, Jeremy, and Wesley stop and turn towards where Sam is standing. Carly raises her eyebrows in confusion while Freddie, Jeremy, and Wesley look at her with a look that says, "What now? We don't have time for this!"

"What is it Sam?" ask the four of them.

"Look at this sign. It says Francine Briggs private detective service. Price says $1,000 per case. You don't think…"

"Nah, that's impossible. She's a teacher; how can she be a detective too? Besides, when we spied on her for that segment on ICarly, all she did was clean" says Freddie.

Carly nods in agreement.

_What a time that was. Stuck in Ms. Briggs house, in her closet, surrounded by Randy Jackson, with Freddie. _

Carly is knocked from her thoughts temporarily as Wesley says, "It could be a cover up."

Carly, Sam, Freddie, and Jeremy turn to Wesley.

"What?" asks Wesley.

Carly shakes another thought of Freddie out of her mind. When she is done, she says, "Lets just think for a moment. If it is Ms. Briggs, maybe she could help us" says Carly.

"Why would she help us? She hates us! Besides, even if she was willing to help us, didn't you say we should handle this problem ourselves?" asks Freddie.

"Ya Carls, even if she could help us, who says that she would even be willing to help us? Besides, we're not even sure it's her" says Sam.

Carly shrugs her shoulders and says, "Only one way to find out."

Carly opens the door to the building and enters, everybody following her closely. Inside the building, they find a nice looking blonde-haired woman, wearing bi-focal glasses, sitting at a desk, complete with a computer and stand-alone calculator. The ICarly gang and associates walk up to the lady, who looks like she just noticed them.

"Hello. Are you looking for Ms. Briggs? She is currently on a mission and is unavailable at the moment" says the secretary.

"Actually, we were just wondering if this is the same Ms. Briggs that works at Ridgeway Jr./Sr. High School."

"Who wants to know?"

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Freddie Benson, and these are my friends, Carly Shay…"

"Hello"

"…Samantha Puckett…"

"What's up?"

"…Jeremy Scholatic…"

"Hi"

"…and Wesley Knipic."

"Peace"

As Freddie and company introduce themselves, the secretary's eyes widen. As soon as they are done, the secretary, who name Freddie found out by her nameplate was Alice, says, "Let me go get her."

As the kids are waiting, someone was yelling at someone else. It was background noise to the kids though, as each were wrapped up in their own thoughts; Carly is thinking about what it would be like not to be crushed on by Freddie; Jeremy and Freddie are thinking about their friend Gibby, and Sam is thinking about what she would do to Nevel and his associates once she got her hands on them. After several moments, Alice comes back, looking fearful.

"Ms. Briggs will see you now!" says Alice, her voice a pitch higher than it should have been.

Alice led the group to a door that says, "The Big Boss", and then flees like she is on fire. The kids hesitantly push the door open; what they see surprises them. They see a woman who has no glasses on, blonde hair, with a small nose and no wrinkles. The only ways the kids recognize her as the Ms. Briggs they know are her cold, dead eyes and pointy boobs. Even when she addresses them, her voice is different.

"Hello Carly, Freddie, Wesley, Jeremy, and Samantha…"

To this Sam groans.

_I hate being called Samantha. It's so girly. Come to think of it, didn't Freddie call me Samantha too? I'll just add that to the list of reason to hurt him later._

"…What can I do for you?"

Ms. Briggs waits patiently while the kids take in their surroundings. Aside from Ms. Briggs actually looking normal, there are diplomas and plagues on the walls. Everything from a criminal law degree to a "world's best private detective" award stuck on the walls.

_Wow, guess that blows our theory out of the water. Either she is working undercover as a teacher, or she is just a workaholic that is working both jobs._ Thinks Freddie.

Freddie being the first to recover asks, "Ms. Briggs is that really you?"

"Yes it is Freddie."

Sam says what everyone else is thinking when she exclaims, "Wow, you actually look normal!"

Ms. Briggs rolls her eyes and says, "Thank you Samantha. Now, I know you probably have a lot of questions for me about my job and looks, but can we dispense with the peasantries. What brings you here?"

"Well, a lot of bad things have been happening to us lately, and we figured your services may be needed to stop them" says Freddie.

"I see. And what bad things may that be?"

"Well, Valerie Hudgenson, my ex-girlfriend, tried and successfully got into my house using my spare key and was saying stuff like we should get back together. Anyways, in not so kind words, I told her I wasn't interested and to get out of my house. She dropped my key and left. Then I went to the arcade. Gibby called me and said that Carly and Sam asked for his and Jeremy's help in finding me. So I told him I was at the arcade. Once Sam, Carly, and Jeremy arrived, I listened to a message on Sam's phone by Nevel Pappermin saying that he and his associates were going to ruin ICarly and our lives. When I heard associates, I immediately thought of Valerie and Gibby, as he didn't show up. But then Jeremy got a text from Gibby saying he was kidnapped by Nevel. So we brainstormed a list of suspects and were about to go investigate when Sam saw your sign. So here we are."

Ms. Briggs nods, and with a look of understanding in her eyes, says, "Let me go get something."

Ms. Briggs goes to her closet and pulls out a machine that looks like a giant tape recorder with a computer attached.

_What the hell is that?_

"What's that for?" asks Sam.

"This is for recording your message and Jeremy's message. This will help us investigate."

"Us?" asks Carly.

"Yes, I have decided to help you. This case may be related to other cases I've been working on. Anyways, let me see your phone Samantha."

Suppressing another groan, Sam hands Ms. Briggs her phone. Ms. Briggs searches the voice mail box until she finds the message, plugs the phone into the machine, and pushes play. The message starts playing and is simultaneously recorded. When the message is done, Ms. Briggs hands Sam her phone back.

"Okay Jeremy, your turn."

Jeremy hands over his phone and Ms. Briggs records the text message, then hands the phone back.

"Thank you. Now I will need the key you were talking about Freddie."

"Okay!"

Freddie pulls the key out of his pocket and is about to give it to Ms. Briggs until he notices something odd about the key.

Ms. Briggs, sensing his distress, asks, "Is there something wrong Freddie?"

"OMG, this isn't my key! And if this isn't mine, then Valerie must have taken the real key. Fuck!"

Carly and Sam gasps as their eyes grew wide.

_Freddie never swears like that! _

Ms. Briggs, also surprised at the outburst, says, "Calm down, Mr. Benson! Now, I will do some of the preliminary work. Go home, all of you, and relax for tonight. Come back tomorrow."

The gang reluctantly agrees and leaves both the office and the building.

"Since nobody is safe alone everyone come over and sleep at my place tonight" says Carly.

With that said, the five head over to Carly's place for a little rest and relaxation, or in their case a little escape and planning.


	7. Chapter 7: Two isn’t always better than

Standard disclaimer crap: I don't own ICarly.

A/N now that the boring s*** is done, Lets get down to buisness. First I would like to thank my top reviewer/FF friend, Snapplelinz, for reviewing every chapter of my story. Second, I'm glad everyone is like the story. Third continue to R&R. fourth, enjoy this exciting chapter!

* * *

Chapter 7: Two isn't always better than one

The gang of five are on their way to Carly apartment when they see a fire truck speed down the street.

"I wonder where that fire truck is going" ponders Sam.

"I don't know, but I have a gut feeling that its going somewhere familiar. Come on, lets follow it the best we can" says Freddie.

"On foot? Are you nuts?" Sam asks Freddie.

"Got any other ideas, Puckett?"

Sam glares at Freddie as the group of five races after the fire truck. Noticing where it turned, the group follows, and then stops. Each one of them can't believe what their seeing; Bushwell Plaza, the place where Carly, Freddie, and, in a sense, even Sam call home, is up in flames.

Freddie, Sam, Jeremy, and Wesley look at the fire in shock as Carly exclaims, "So that where the fire truck went! My home! How, how could this have happened?! Wait, what's that?!"

Carly starts running up to the building, Freddie, Jeremy, Sam, and Wesley following. She sees two people coming out of the building.

"Who is that?" asks Freddie, who also sees the two people.

Carly gasps as she recognizes the two people.

"That's Lewbert and my granddad!"

_Why is granddad here? Did Spencer send him over? No, Spencer said he trust me again. If that's the case, why is granddad here? And why is Lewbert carrying him? I need answers._

Carly and company finish running up to the building as Carly makes a beeline for Lewbert.

When she reaches him, she asks, with tears in her eyes, "What happened? Is granddad alright?"

Lewbert replies in a deadly serious voice nobody has ever heard him use before, "I don't know if your grandfather is going to be alright. He was caught in a pretty bad explosion."

"How did this happen?" asks a voice the kids recognized as Officer Carl, who, along with his partner, who was directing traffic away from the building, were dispatched along with the firemen.

As Lewbert is answering Officer Carl, Carly's granddad is being looked at by paramedics, who arrived on the scene moments ago. Carly and Freddie go to where the paramedic is, while Lewbert tells his story to Sam and the others.

"I'm not exactly sure. I was sitting at my desk…sleeping…when a fire alarm went off at apartment 8d. I ran up stairs and saw Carly's granddad unconscious in the hallway between 8c and 8d. I called 911 from my cell phone and took Carly's granddad out of the building as the rest of the complex burst into flames."

"So you don't know how the fire started?" asks Officer Carl.

"No sir."

Officer Carl then asks, "And you did see anyone suspicious?"

"No one besides the regular patrons."

Officer Carl nods as he leaves to talk to the other patrons.

After Officer Carl leaves, Lewbert asks Sam, "Hey Sam, can you go get my niec…um…Carly. I need to talk to her alone."

Sam looks at Lewbert in shock.

_Did he just say that Carly was his niece? No way did I here right!_

Sam, still partially in shock, numbly nods her head as she goes to get Carly. Sam walks over to where Carly and Freddie are. She sees Carly crying, probably about her home and grandfather, and Freddie, who looks unsure about whether to try and comfort her or not. Sam, who is watching the scene, shakes her head.

_Come on Freddie, comfort her. You don't know how much she needs it, especially from you._

Freddie, after a moment of indecision, timidly puts his arm around Carly and pulls her close. Carly continues to cry for a few more moments, and then slowly calms down.

Sam, who is looking on, thinks to herself, _Good Job Freddie. While I'm still pissed at you, I won't kill you now._

Once Carly is fully calm, Sam approaches her and Freddie.

"Hey guys! How is your granddad Carly?"

Sam thought that Carly was going to burst into tears again; however Carly answers her, in an almost defeated tone, with, "The paramedic said that my grandpa is in a coma. They are going to take him to the hospital for more tests, but they said they don't know when or if he's going to wake up."

Sam looks at Carly, tears welding in her own eyes.

In a sympathetic voice, Sam says, "I'm sorry Carly. Your grandpa is a wonderful man. Hopefully he will be fine. Anyways, Lewbert sent me over to get you. He says that he wants to talk to you alone."

"Alone? Why alone?" asks Freddie, on behalf of Carly.

"I don't know!" exclaims Sam.

Carly says nothing as she leaves Sam and Freddie to go talk to Lewbert.

"Hi Lewbert" says Carly.

Lewbert took a good look at Carly. She had clearly been crying, and she has a depressed look on her face. The smile that is always on her face and in her eyes, gone. It broke Lewbert's heart to see her like this.

"Hi Carly. There is something I need to tell you. I rescued your grandfather not because I'm heroic, but because he's my father…"

Carly's eyes widen at this. If Lewbert's dad was her grandfather, then that meant that…

"…and that means, I'm your uncle…"

To Carly, this all made sense. All the yelling at her, was just Lewbert's way of protecting her. And, it also made sense that no matter how many pranks they pulled on him, he didn't call the police. He was just being a good sport. Still, something didn't make sense to her. Why after all this time she didn't either figure it out herself or was told by somebody. Just as she was about to ask Lewbert "why now?" she sees him collapse in front of her.

"AHHHHH!"

Hearing Carly's scream, Freddie, Sam, Wesley, Jeremy, and Officer Carl run over to her.

"What happened?" asks Officer Carl.

"Lewbert and I were talking, and he just collapsed! Someone help him!" shrikes a panicking Carly.

Officer Carl calls the paramedics over to Lewbert's location. The notice Lewbert on the ground and bring a defibulator and breathing mask with them. They take off his shirt, then they check his breathing and pulse. His pulse is elevated but he is not breathing. They use the defibulator on him and once his pulse stops, they begin CPR. They alternate between chest compressions and the breathing mask for about 5 minutes. During this, Sam, Freddie, Jeremy, and Wesley look on in bewilderment as Carly burst into tears.

_This is just too much to handle: First the apartment, then granddad, and now Lewbert. This is just too much!_

After 5 minutes, one of the paramedics says, "That's it, I'm calling it…"

Carly, knowing what is coming next, whispers, "no"

"…Time of death, 5:34 pm June 1st, 2010."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" screams Carly.

Carly falls down to her knees, crying. Freddie walks over to her and pulls her into a sitting-hug, as Carly cries into his shoulder. Officer Carl walks over to Carly and puts his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Carly. Lewbert was a mean but good man."

Officer Carl then asks Freddie, "Do you and Carly have anywhere to stay?"

Before Freddie could say no, Sam says, "They can stay at my place. My mom won't mind."

"Very well, we have some work to do here. You guys should go."

Sam nods and leads Wesley, Jeremy, Freddie, and Carly to her house. As they are walking, they hear Carly say through her tears, "Whoever did this to me is going to pay!"


	8. Chapter 8: One of our own

Disclaimer: I don't own Icarly. I'm very disappointed.

A/N I hope you enjoy this new, long chapter. Please Read and Review thank you.

Warning lots of swearing and a few f-bombs inside.

* * *

Chapter 8: One of our own

The group can feel the tension as they are led to Sam's house by the blond herself. Carly is still crying over the loss of her uncle and possible loss of her grandfather. Freddie is still internally struggling about comforting Carly, and Jeremy and Wesley are wondering what Sam's house is going to look like. After all, they heard the stories about Sam's mother. Heck, they even witnessed it when Sam's mom drove into school. Shaking their heads, they wondered how Sam survived with a mother like that. They then thought of Carly. She was the closest thing to a saint. She, along with her brother, Spencer, practically took care of Sam, Freddie to at times. She didn't deserve what happened to her, nobody did.

Jeremy and Wesley, along with Carly and Freddie are knocked from their thoughts when Sam says, "We're here!"

The kids look around, slightly confused. Carly, who has been mostly silent except for her crying, says, "Sam, quit playing around! This isn't your house!"

"Ya, Sam, what gives? This is a bus stop" says Freddie.

Sam glares at Freddie and exclaims, "Of course I know this is a bus stop! This bus will take us to a stop right in front of my house. After all, I don't think you want to be walking the five miles to my house".

The gang of five feels the tension in the air as they wait for the bus. Freddie, being the wise one of the group, asks, "Um, just how are we going to pay to get on the bus?"

Sam asks, "Don't you have money?"

Freddie shakes his head no. As he does, Wesley speaks up and says, "I don't have money either; I spent the last of it at the arcade".

Sam remains quiet, even though inside she is fuming.

_Of course he doesn't have money either. Probably gave most of it to Freddie, the bastard._

Carly, tired of all the in-fighting, and deciding that their energy would best be saved for other uses screams, "SHUT UP!"

Everyone stops their half-arguing and looks at Carly. They have never before heard her scream like that and it scared them half-to-death.

"I'll pay for the fucking tickets everyone just shut the fuck up!"

The gang's mouths drop at this. They never heard Carly drop the f-bomb before, much less twice, nor have they seen her this angry. They couldn't blame her though; she did just lose her home and uncle and possibly her grandfather. She was going to be angry. Nonetheless, they are still shocked.

Sam, being the first to recover from Carly outburst, as she did the stuff all the time, says, "Carly…"

"WHAT!"

Sam is taken back from this outburst however: Sam has never been the one to get yelled at; most of the time she does the yelling. That's partly what upset her when Freddie yelled at her.

_No, I can't think about that right now! I have a job to do._

Pushing the thought of her and Freddie's argument aside, she continues, "Carly, I know you just lost your home…"

"And my uncle."

Sam wasn't surprised by this, but Freddie, Wesley, and Jeremy are. All, except Sam, were thinking the same thing.

_Lewbert, Carly's uncle. No way! That mean, vicious man, related to someone as nice as Carly, no way!_

They are knocked from their thoughts when Sam continued by saying, "…and your uncle, and possibly your grandfather…"

At this, Carly looks like she could cry again.

"…but you can't fall apart. If you do, then whoever did this to you will win."

Carly nods, but also exclaims, "How can I keep my cool, WHEN I've lost not one but two of my family members and MY HOME!"

"You don't know about your grandfather. He could be fine" says Sam.

"HE'S IN A COMA!" exclaims Carly.

Before anyone can say anything else, the bus arrives. Carly gets on and hands the driver a $5 bill.

"For all of us" she tells him.

The driver nods, and Carly and the gang finish boarding the bus.

They all sit near the back of the bus. Wesley and Jeremy sit next to each other. Sam, Carly, and Freddie all sit alone, but in close proximity of everybody else. Freddie begins to think about why Carly, who was super pissed at him, would allow him to hold her, to comfort her. He also thinks about his mother, and why she would suddenly leave like she did.

_I would have known if there was a floral convention; mom wouldn't have shut up about it. And in Florida? Why would she go to Florida for something so lame? Anyways, maybe I should call her; after all it would be the perfect time too. We did just lose our home after all. And, provided she's not too upset, Carly should call Spencer too._

With that thought in mind, Freddie attempts to talk to Carly.

"Carly…"

Carly turns towards Freddie, and with fresh tears in her eyes, whispers, "What"

Ignoring the need to comfort her, at least for the moment, Freddie continues, "Maybe you should give Spencer a call. Now would be the perfect time too. I'm going to give my mom a call as well."

Somberly, Carly nods and takes out her cell phone. She was about to call Spencer's cell phone until she remembers seeing it in the living room of her apartment.

_How am I going to get a hold of Spencer now?_

Turning her head towards Freddie, and seeing a confused look on his face, Carly realizes that Freddie must have a similar problem.

_Great! Neither one of us can get a hold of Spencer or Mrs. Benson. Now what?_

Carly thinks for a moment while looking at her phone. Suddenly she gets a brilliant idea.

_Wait, why don't I call the art convention and Freddie calls wherever his mom went. Where did his mom go anyways? Probably somewhere funny and obscured. _

Curiously, Carly asks Freddie, "Freddie, where's your mom?"

Freddie, startled by Carly's voice, as he was deep in thought about how to contact his mom, takes a moment to collect himself before saying, "She's at a dumb floral convention in Florida. Why?"

Carly answers with, "Well, I was thinking, if you can't call your mom's cell phone, then maybe you can call the…"

Carly stifles a laugh before saying, "…Floral convention, to get a hold of her. I'm going to do the same thing with Spencer."

Freddie smiles and says," Carly, that's brilliant, why didn't I think of that?"

For the first time since the fire, Carly smiles, but only for a moment. She then says, "Okay, lets Google search it on our phones".

Freddie yells, "Right", and then Google searches for any floral conventions in Florida. He finds one and then calls the number. Meanwhile, Carly is doing the same thing, only she id searching for any art conventions in Phoenix, Az. She finds only one and calls the number. She gets a representative before Freddie does.

"Hello"

"Hi, my name is Carly Shay; I'm calling to talk to my brother, Spencer Shay. He should be showing some artwork at your convention."

"I'm sorry dear, but the convention doesn't start until tomorrow…"

Carly blushes at that

_Oops, I forgot about that. Now what?_

"…I can give you the number to the hotel in town though."

"Please do, I really appreciate it."

Carly pulls a pen and some paper out of her pocket and writes the number down. After finishing her call with the representative, she dials the number to the hotel. As she does, she hears Freddie yell, "Dammit!" Before she can ask 'what's wrong', she connects with the hotel operator.

"Hello!"

"Hi, my name is Carly Shay; I'm calling to talk to my brother Spencer Shay. Is he staying with you?"

"Hold on let me check".

Carly looks at Freddie, who looks pissed off beyond belief. After a moment, the hotel operator speaks.

"I'm sorry dear, but I'm afraid we have no Spencer Shay staying with us."

_Dammit, now what? Wait, maybe there's another hotel in town I can call._

"Is there any other hotels in or near Phoenix?"

"I'm sorry dear, but this is the only hotel in the state."

_Only hotel in the state? How is that possible?_

"Okay bye".

Carly hangs up the phone, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

_How can a state only have on hotel? That's impossible! Okay, if Spencer isn't there, then where is he?_

"Uh, not again!"

Carly looks over towards Freddie and asks, "What's wrong?"

"I've called everywhere I can think of and I can't find my mom anywhere! This is so frustrating!"

Suddenly, the bus stops. When it does, Sam silently exits the bus. The other four kids are left to wonder what is wrong with her and they too exit the bus. Just as Sam said, the bus pulled up right in front of her house.

_That convenient and weird_ thought Wesley and Jeremy.

When the two boys look at the house themselves, the do a double-take; the house was a two story brick house with a double-door entrance, with a gigantic picture window overlooking a beautiful porch. All in all, the outside was astoundingly beautiful.

The boys follow Sam, Carly, and Freddie to the front door of Sam's house as Carly exclaims, "I know exactly what you mean."

Freddie gives Carly a quizzical look as Carly explains, " I tried calling the art convention that Spencer was going to, forgetting the convention doesn't start until tomorrow. The receptionist said that to me, and then she gave me the number of a local hotel. I called the hotel, and found out that Spencer was not there. But then I was lied to and told that that was the only hotel in the state. How can a state only have one hotel? It's a conspiracy I tell Ya!"

As Freddie is responding, Sam opens the door.

"Are you sure? I mean maybe you misheard. Besides, maybe Spencer didn't leave the state yet. Maybe he's staying at another hotel outside of Arizona.

Before Carly can respond, she is knocked silent be the sight of Sam's house. Freddie, wondering why Carly hasn't responded yet, follows her eyes. As he does, he too is knocked silent. Sam's house is nothing like he remembered it when he visited before. For one, it is clean, almost spotless. Second, it looks like there is new furniture, new carpet, new everything.

_How can Sam's mom afford this? And why is this so clean?_

Freddie looks around the place, and then at his friends, who have the same look as he does. Then he looks at Sam, who looks at him sheepishly.

Sam, who had been looking at Freddie, looks at Carly, Jeremy, and Wesley, who all have confused looks on their faces. Sam takes a deep breathe, and looks at her friends.

_Okay, confession time. Hopefully all hell won't break loose._

"Okay before anyone asks, I have a confession. I'm not as bad off as I seem. My mother has a job, although I don't know what it is, that pays well. She bought all of this stuff. Although I don't see her that much, she does provide me with food, water, clothes, and, as you can see, more than adequate shelter. And yes, she gives me money too."

Carly, Freddie, Wesley, and Jeremy process what Sam just said.

"So wait, all those times you said you needed food, water, and a place to get away from your mom, all that was lies?" asks Carly.

Sam looks Carly straight in the eyes and says, "Yes"

"Wait, what about all those time you needed to borrow money? Were those lies too?" asks Freddie.

Sam looks Freddie straight in the eyes this time and says, "Yes, those were lies too!"

Carly and Freddie are both at first shocked, then angry.

_That lying bitch! How could she have lied to us all those years? She's going to get it!_

Carly is the first one to voice her anger.

"Why did you lie to us all these years? You know how much money me and Spencer had to spend to provide you food and drink? And what about all the money you've borrowed from us over the years? And Freddie too! What did you do with it? And you've used my place as an escape, from what I'm not even sure anymore. What about when I've needed to escape? You could have invited me over but no, instead you just used me to get free food and to bug me about your life THAT NEVER EVEN EXISTED! HOW COULD DO THIS TO US?"

Sam was speechless. Nobody has ever yelled at her like that, short of Freddie that is.

_Oh man, what have I done? I've betrayed my two best friends for so long. How can I make this right. I guess I can start by apologizing._

"I'm sorry."

"SORRY! SORRY! You betrayed us all these years and that's all you can say? How pathetic!"

_Okay now I'm mad. How can this girl say I'm pathetic when I'm giving her sympathy and letting her stay at my house? I'm not going to take this. _

"How am I pathetic? I'm letting you stay at my house, I'm showing you sympathy for the loss of your home and uncle and I've said I'm sorry for betraying you…and Freddie. I didn't know how to tell you guys and I knew if I did that this is the way you were going to react. And look, I know I haven't always been there for you and I know I haven't been the best friend I could be but I'm trying my best. I really am sorry. Forgive me?"

_Well, maybe she is sorry. I've never heard Sam pour her heart out like that. Maybe I should forgive her. But can I? I'll just have to try._

Carly, who was super pissed at Sam a few moments ago, suddenly smiles and says, "I'm sorry too for snapping. It's just that this had been hell today and I guess the pressure just caught up with me. So I'll forgive you if you forgive me."

"Deal! Now I want to show everyone something."


End file.
